Cupboard Boy
by AlexNameless
Summary: Realistic Harry Fic. Neglected starved unwanted. That was all Harry knew as a child, enough to mess anyone up. Then a friendly giant shows up and tells him not only is he a wizard, but his parents were murdered and their murderer isn't really dead and just might want him dead too. ABANDONED. WILL BE PUT IN TALES AND DELETED.


Summary: Realistic Harry Fic. Neglected. Starved. Unwanted. That was all Harry knew as a child, enough to mess anyone up. Then a friendly giant shows up and tells him not only is he a wizard, but his parents were murdered and their murderer isn't really dead and just might want him dead too. A different, hopefully more realistic take on a not so well-adjusted Harry.

Notes: Mild crossover elements. In this chapter, its Dragon Ball Z and Pikachu. Nothing extensive.

* * *

Chapter 1: The Rooftop and the Argument

After the rooftop incident, Harry is locked in his cupboard and overhears an argument in the kitchen. They always think he can't hear them. "Petunia, you swore when we took him in that he would be a normal boy! That we'd stamp all of his parents' nonsense out of him and raise him right." Vernon was yelling at Petunia.

"What do you think I've been doing, Vernon?" Petunai exclaimed. "I stopped giving him an allowance. He does his homework at the table and he does just as much of the housework as I do. Always has. We've given him no more than the bare necessities. What more do you want me to do?"

Vernon was still seething. "I want you to put him in the orphanage! I will not have a freak in my house! None of this-this funny business he's doing. He's been nothing but a nuisance from day one. That's why he ended up in the cupboard to begin with, because he wrecked Dudley's playroom!"

He'd heard that story a lot. When he was a toddler he was put in there for time out because it was his bedroom and when they went to let him out, the room looked like a tornado hit it. All the furniture was turned around and clothes and toys spilled all over the floor. The pink wooden letters left hanging on the wall still, five years later, spelling out the name Rose Marie, were all knocked off the wall and spread around the room on the floor, on the furniture, everywhere. He never slept in the spare room again.

"Now he's getting on the school rooftop! What next, Petunia? What will it take to make you realize we can't stamp it out of him anymore. He's not one of us, never has been, and never will be!"

Petunia broke down crying. "I'm sorry, Vernon! I'm sorry. I just wanted another child. I just wanted to be able to give Dudley a sibling. That's why we bought this big, four-bedroom house, remember? So that we could have more children, and then-"

Petunia broke down sobbing. He had no idea what she was talking about, too young to understand it all. How did moms get pregnant anyways? Didn't it just…happen?

Vernon comforted Petunia and apologized. "I'm sorry, Pet. I didn't mean it like that. I-I guess it's my fault as well. I just wanted you and Dudley to be safe. I didn't want you two to die like your parents did. What's all the money even worth if I don't know you're safe?"

Robbers, he remembered Petunia talking to Dudley about it, explaining why he didn't have anyone to take to Grandparents Day at school. She was always so sad around the day they died. But what did either the rooftop accident or taking him in have to do with that?

"Yes, the blood wards-" Aunt Petunia had started to speak, but Vernon interrupted her with a harsh hushing noise. "Oh the boy's asleep and behind two closed doors, he can't possibly hear us."

Nevertheless, Uncle Vernon persisted and interrupted his wife. "I will not have it, Pet. What if he blows up this house, too?"

"Vernon!" Whatever they were talking about, Uncle Vernon had just crossed an invisible line. He knew that tone. "Harry had no part in that and you know it. Oh, Vernon, why can't you understand?" She was exasperated with him. "Lily might've been a bad egg, but she was my sister. My only sister. And not months before, my mum and dad. Can you comprehend that?" She paused for a moment, grief stricken.

Then, she continued. "You never think it'll be you. Someone else, anyone else. And then its you, and everything's not what you thought it would be. Suddenly all those petty things don't matter anymore. Nothing else matters but keeping yourself and your family alive. And even if he does turn out to be one of them he's still my family. I will not send him away, Vernon. We'll do our part and try to raise him right, same as we have been."

"But its not working, Pet!" Vernon exclaimed "What are we supposed to do, wait until the Social Services come knocking on our door because of something that freak did?!"

"The social services won't be coming, Vernon. That's ridiculous. The school board thinks it's the building's design that allowed Harry to get on the roof."

"I'm sorry, Pet, but the boy has got to go. I will not put up with this nonsense. I will not lose my son because of him."

Aunt Petunia gave a frustrated sigh. "I'm just as tired of this as you are, Vernon. But if we give him up, we will lose the protection of the blood wards and I can't live like that again. I won't do it. But If we keep him, we have to suffer for it. All the lies and half-truths and covering up his behavior, like today. I don't know how much longer I can do it."

The whole exchange reveals to him a few things – his aunt did love him, after all. Also, most of it went way over his head, but evidently people from a company called Blood Wards protected them all because he lived with them. Because his aunt's parents got their house broken into and killed? Was that normal? But if that were the case, wouldn't the Blood Ward people protect the Durlseys whether they took him in or not? It couldn't be about his parents. His parents died driving drunk on the way home from a Halloween party. He was so confused! He wasn't surprised, but it still hurt a lot to hear them say plain and simple that they didn't want him. That they hated him and thought he was a burden.

It was at this point that he got upset and started crying. _What did I ever do? I try so hard to listen and obey right away and do all my chores and do good on all the homework. But its just never good enough. I'm never good enough. What's wrong with me? Why can't I try hard enough? Is it cause my parents were low-lifes who didn't have jobs and dropped out of school? Did they give all their low-life-ness to me cause I'm their son? I don't wanna be a low-life. I just want to be good enough for them to love me like they love Dudley, but they never will cause I'm just a freak._ _I'm nothing but a freak!_

POP. Suddenly the bouncy ball he'd been staring angrily at, just to have something to look at, exploded. "BOY you better quiet down in there!"

He startled badly. "I'm sorry, Uncle Vernon!" He looked at the old, dusty hardwood floor instead tried to make his crying softer. It was stuffy and hard to breathe in here.

Upset and hurt, he retreated into his head some. "Gohan? Pikachu?"

And in an instant, a six year old boy with black hair in a bowl cut wearing a purple gi appeared beside him, knelt down and patting his shoulder, trying to comfort him. "Hey, its okay, Harry! They're just big bullies."

There was the sound of tiny feet on hardwood, and Pikachu came running out of nowhere to his side. "Pi pika!" it exclaimed in determined agreement. Harry could always understand what it meant. _I agree!_

He wiped his tears and the boogers away with a hand, wiped the hand clean on his trousers, and reached out to pet Pikachu. "Thanks, Pikachu. Thanks, Gohan."

"Wanna come to my house, Harry? Mom's making dinner." Gohan offered.

He nodded. "Yeah, your mom's cooking is the best!"

Gohan jumped up, excited. "Great! But we better get there quick, before dad eats it all!"

In his mind, he was transported straight to the forest surrounding Gohan's home.

"Gohan! Dinner is ready!" Chichi yelled, her form barely visible through the trees, standing outside on the front step.

Gohan turned and waved to his mom in the distance. "Coming!"

The two boys and the tiny mouse pokemon ran through the trees and into Gohan's house, each taking their usual spots at the table. Harry sat beside Gohan and Pikachu waited on the floor beside Harry's chair, standing and watching Chichi put platters and bowls on the table.

"Harry, hello! And Pikachu, too." Chichi set down a platter of roast beef on the table and enveloped him in a hug. He beamed. It felt so nice to get a hug. He'd never been hugged before so he could only imagine what it felt like. Like being safe and warm and loved, all wrapped up in thick blankets.

"What a pleasant surprise! Here, I'll get you some plates and bowls." Chichi said, turning around to get him some dishes. Within minutes, he had a small bowl of white rice, a small bowl of some soup, and a plate full of steamed vegetables, roast beef, and dumplings.

Pikachu was given a pet bowl filled with a little bit of everything. "Pikachu!" It chirped, looking up at her as she set the bowl down, thanking her.

Harry dug in with Gohan and the rest of the family, eating his fill. It was nice to eat without anyone to complain or cause an argument. Petunia often made him be done eating early and go to his cupboard if Dudley threw a fit.

"Did you have fun playing, Gohan?" Chichi asked. Goku didn't say anything during meals, as he was always too busy eating to talk.

"Yeah!" Gohan exclaimed. "Me and Icarus are practicing a song and dance, but its not ready yet. Icarus is hard to teach. You should come see when its done!"

Chichi smiled warmly at her son. "I will, I'm sure it'll be great. Remember you have to study after dinner, okay? You still have to do your math."

Gohan nodded, pouting and busying himself with his food. "Yes, mom, I will." Harry knew Gohan would rather play. Maybe Gohan could show it to him, and he could join in. It might be fun!

"Do you have any homework, Harry? I can help you." Chichi asked, turning to him.

Harry sputtered at being addressed so kindly. "Y-yes, I do. I have a spelling test next week, we just got our new word list today."

"Alright, we'll work on that after dinner." Chichi replied. "We'll make sure you ace that test!"

Harry grinned. He was so happy. It was nice to be cared for, and to have someone do something for you out of their own will and not because they had to.

* * *

Author's Note: Anyone who has read my fics know, I'm not one to finish anything. I'm not a good writer, either. I think with this fanfic I'm gonna try to go for something more episodic in nature. Like, show snapshots in time and different scenarios and not try to commit to something really long.


End file.
